The Motley Fool Take: Catch Up With Heinz

If you think H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) is just about ketchup, you need to catch up with the times. The company has plans over the next two years to offer 400 new products and inject roughly $100 million into a marketing plan to keep business growing.

Heinz produces more than 650 million bottles and 11 billion packets of ketchup annually. But it also oversees a diverse portfolio of brands such as Weight Watchers, Smart Ones, Bagel-Bites and Ore-Ida potatoes. It plans to build upon its core portfolio, particularly in the health-and- wellness segment.

For the fourth quarter, Heinz saw overall sales rise 11.3 percent to $2.7 billion, and profits increase 7.2 percent from last year. Results, however, weren't even.

International sales, which make up 56 percent of Heinz's revenue, benefited from strong surges in demand. But U.S. food-service revenues were essentially flat, while U.S. consumer-product sales rose 10 percent. Heinz increased its dividend 9 percent to $0.415 a share.

At about $50 a share, Heinz stock is at its highest levels in nearly a decade. Yet, when compared with some peers, it still looks attractively priced. Moreover, it's producing prodigious amounts of cash flow.